More Down, Down, Down, Down, Down

December 8, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helections, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: Berlin, Coalition Government, Coalitions, German, Germans, Germany, Leftists, Political Parties, Polls, Social Democracy, Socialism, SPD, Surveys Leave a comment

Just when you thought Germany’s SPD couldn’t sink any further…

The Genossen (comrades) figure out a way to do it. I never really believed that the Volkspartei (people’s party with a broad base) SPD could ever actually disappear into the sunset forever but now I’m just not so sure anymore.

Germany’s SPD slip in polls after choosing new leftist leaders – Support for Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) has fallen after members last week chose as leaders a leftist duo who are skeptical about remaining in government with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, a poll showed on Saturday.

A Forsa poll put the SPD on 11%, 3 points down from a week ago and hitting a low last seen in June after previous leader Andrea Nahles quit due following the party’s worst-ever result in elections to the European Parliament.

You know the lyrics, folks. I’m going down. Down, down, down, down, down.

Please, Reduce Already

December 4, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Germany, Polls, Russia, Surveys, USA Leave a comment

Germans in favor of ‘reducing reliance’ on US.

A new YouGov poll has found that a majority of Germans are in favor of reducing reliance on the US and increasing ties with Russia. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany cannot defend itself alone.

And good luck with those increased Russian ties!

Dull And Duller

December 3, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Humility, Humor, Hurt Feelings Tags: Berlin, Coaltions, Elections, German, Germans, Germany, Grand Coalition, Political Parties, Politicians, Social Democracy, Social Democrats, SPD Leave a comment

Or: Non-Party Elects Nonentities To Non-Lead Them.

Does anybody out there remember the uncola? Doesn’t matter. I’m sure you get the idea. Germany’s SPD (Social Democratic Party) has just made the leap to unparty status. Or non-party, if you prefer. I do. Nobody can figure this out. These two came out of nowhere because that’s where they belong. How can I put it? They are sheep in sheep’s clothing. Dull? These two are so dull that either one of them, on his or her own, could make the perfect chairman of the bored. But two of them together? Like, at the same time? It’s just too much to take.

Two strong leftist critics of the coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives – Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken – won a vote for leadership of the Social Democrats on Saturday, possibly putting the country, Europe’s largest economy, at a political crossroads.

Their ascendancy raises the chances of an early election or a minority government if the SPD leaves the coalition, which could trigger political instability at a time when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the country’s third-largest party.

“I think it is good that the SPD has made a decision.” Loud yawn. “It paves the way to return to business. For the CDU it is quite clear: we stand by this coalition. We stand by this coalition on the basis that has been negotiated.”

Deportation German Style

December 1, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Angela Merkel, Asylum Seekers, Borders, Deportation, EU, Europe, German, Germans, Germany, Immigration, Language, Migrants, Refugees Leave a comment

When Germans say deportation they mean deportation. It’s just that deportation clearly means something else in German than it does in English. Even though it means deportation, I mean. And here I thought I spoke the language. Sheesh.

Germany: Thousands of migrants return after deportation, report says – Thousands of asylum-seekers in Germany have returned multiple times after deportation, according to a report in German media. Those with entry bans often serve a few months in jail or are not arrested at all…

There are nearly 5,000 asylum-seekers who have reapplied for asylum after being deported from Germany since 2012, according to the report, which cites official government figures. Some of the asylum-seekers willingly left Germany, knowing deportation was imminent. The then returned to German to make another application for asylum, according to the report.

German oddity 234: Germany is a country that now places the ugly security controls, bollards and heavily armed police it used to have on its national borders at Christmas markets and Volksfeste around the country instead.

A Positive Development

November 29, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Hideology, Home Cooking, Humility, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Angela Merkel, Defense, Defense Spending, Donald Trump, Fairness, German, Germans, Germany, NATO, Responsibility Leave a comment

But nowhere near what the Germans pledged to do long, long ago.

Germany to match US contribution to NATO budget – From 2021, Germany will increase its contribution to the NATO budget to be in line with what the US pays. NATO officials hope the move will diffuse tensions surrounding the cost of maintaining the military alliance.

Gee. I wonder what – or who? – finally got the Germans to act?

Starting in 2021, the share of the NATO budget covered by Germany will increase from 14.8% to 16.35%, while the share covered by the US will decrease from 22.1% to 16.35%…

NATO officials hope the new agreement will alleviate some of the tension around the topic of NATO financing. US President Donald Trump has complained that the US covers more than its fair share of the costs for the alliance. He has demanded that other member states make good on their pledges to increase their NATO contribution to 2% of GDP by 2024 (pledged nearly twenty years ago), a goal that Germany will not reach.

Merkel on Wednesday vowed to reach the 2% mark by the “early 2030s.”

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 28, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Humor Tags: Thanksgiving Leave a comment

No Difference Between China And The USA

November 27, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Hi-tech, Hideology, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy, Hysteria Tags: 5G, Anti-Americanism, China, Espionage, German, Germans, Germany, Huawei, Polls, Richard Grenell, Security, Spies, Spying, Surveys, USA 1 Comment

Right? Not in Germany there isn’t.

To understand any German position on any international theme or issue you must understand that US-Amerika is somehow, in some way, in some form, a, if not the, negative factor in it. Once you understand and accept this, everything German politicians and diplomats say starts making sense. Take China and 5G for instance. Please.

The US ambassador to Berlin has sharply criticised German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier for suggesting a parallel between Chinese and US spying.

The row flared up over Germany’s decision not to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei from participation in the German 5G mobile phone network…

Meanwhile, a new opinion poll suggests a wide gap between the views of Americans and Germans on US-German relations.

Three-quarters of Americans surveyed were positive. But nearly two-thirds of Germans felt relations were bad, the Pew Research Center/Körber-Stiftung poll found.

“There is no moral equivalency between China and the United States and anyone suggesting it ignores history.”

German Of The Day: Späti

November 24, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Heconomy, Helplessness, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Berlin, Capitalism, Convenience Stores, Entrepreneurship, Free Enterprise, German, Germans, Germany, Government Interference, Language, Private Industry, Regulation, Small Businesses, State Intervention, Stores Leave a comment

That means the late-night stores of Berlin. And we should have smelled this rat coming long ago.

How could these popular local convenience stores be allowed to continue running without being inconvenienced by the Berlin city government? They were allowed to open when they saw fit, depending entirely on supply and demand. You know, like in capitalism? Spätis are one of the few things that actually work in this town, by the way. Obviously, somebody had to step in here. Spätis are crying out for government regulation – for our own good.

Since a May ruling by the Administrative Court of Berlin, city authorities have fastidiously targeted family-run convenience stores such as Abels’ if they’re open on Sundays. The crackdown is part of a broader debate that’s erupting over the future of these stores — known as Spätis — that have over the decades emerged as cultural symbols of Berlin.

“Spätis are to Berlin like cafés are to Paris. It’s where all forms of life come together.”

Angela Merkel Must Go

November 22, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Home Cooking, Hurt Feelings Tags: Angela Merkel, CDU, Coalition Governments, German, Germans, Germany, Political Parties, Power Leave a comment

I couldn’t agree more. Enough Merkeldämmerung already (Twilight of the Merkel – as in of the Gods).

But who is strong enough going to push her out the door? And who would want to? She’s the Blob, so don’t touch her. And she’s even cloned herself.

For 10 of the last 14 years, Merkel has presided over grand coalition governments, bringing together the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centre-left Social Democrats. This has given continuous stable government, but at a cost. Consensual centrism has not encouraged the robust political debate essential to a liberal democracy. Conservative Germans have long complained that “we have two social democratic parties”. This is a perfectly competent government for undemanding times, but with none of the ambition needed to face the giant challenges of today.

No Suspicion Here

November 20, 2019 By Hermann Observer in Habitudes, Hard Facts, Helplessness, Hideology, Humility, Hurt Feelings, Hypocrisy Tags: Asylum Seekers, Berlin, German, Germans, Germany, Intelligence Agencies, Islamist Terrorists, Language, Migrants, Syria, Syrian, Terror, Terrorists Leave a comment

Yesterday’s German of the day was Terrorverdact (suspicion of terror) but there was never any suspicion in my mind as to who the Germans got their intelligence from.

Who else? From evil US-Amerika itself.

US tips off Germany to ‘radical Islamist’ from Syria suspected of planning devastating attack – Police in Germany arrested a “radical Islamist” from Syria on Tuesday after receiving a tip from U.S. intelligence officials that the man was planning an attack.

Prosecutors said the 26-year-old man was planning an attack designed to “kill and injure a maximum number of people,” according to reports.

Erste Hinweise durch ausländischen Geheimdienst?

Observing Hermann

“Was interessiert mich mein Geschwätz von gestern?”

Category Archives: Habitudes